REDFIN Hit Parade!

HOOOWHEEE! Busy day. Thanks, Greg; that worked. Lots of traffic. If you ever get your server back [update: it's back] I'll link to Kris Berg's superb post as well. And thanks to local agent Ron Ares for the link and excellent post.

Since there are many new visitors, including several agents from Redfin, here's a brief summary of the ideology behind this blog as it pertains to internet startups in general and Redfin in particular:

1. I'm a profound believer in the free market, which means I have faith in the ability of the customer – you – to make sound decisions. You're not stupid.
   
   
2. Given (1), I thrive on competition. I aspire to be as good as those who do things well, but still love those who don't because they make me look better.
   
   
3. Thus not only don't I have any inherent animus for startups like Zillow or Redfin, I applaud them their innovation. If consumers find value, they'll survive, and we'll all be better because of it.
   
   
4. Zillow will survive. Redfin, I suspect, will not.
   
   
5. The Sixty Minutes piece, as noted, was transparently dishonest. There's nothing customers hate more than dishonesty. [But I do admire the chutzpah of an agent claiming she quit her full service job because, doggone it, she was just making too much money too easily.]
   
   
6. As many have noted today, Redfin doesn't sell something for less, it sells considerably less for less.
   
   
7. Good agents sell not only what they do, but what they know, and are worth every penny they charge because of it.
   
   
8. Not every agent is a good agent.
   
   
9. The real estate industry is in flux, and it's internet related. But I think it has more to do with where effort is concentrated: The agents who spend most of their time prospecting for new clients, practicing listing presentations and learning how to overcome objections are going to dwindle in numbers; those who spend most of their time learning new techniques to market a home or touring homes to know the inventory – learning to be better agents – are going to go to the head of the class.
   
   
10. Finally, back to (1): As an industry we spend waaaaaaaayy too much time worrying about innovation, trying to protect ourselves from it, rather than capitalizing on it.
    
    It's simple: do whatever is best for the customer. That's what good agents do every day.
    
    Works a lot better than talking points.